Oscillating machine



Nov. 5, 1968 c. DAVIS 3,403,991

I: I 100 I03 l as a,

INVENTOR. CAREY L. DAV/s AT TORNEYS 1968 c. 1.. DAVIS 3,408,991

OSCILLATING MACHINE Filed July 12, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I47 65 I 53 35 a2 I52 4 [5/ INVENTOR. CAREY L. DAVIS ATTORNE Y5 Nwv. 5, i938 c. I... DAVIS 3,408,991

OSCILLATING MACHINE Filed July 12, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 J Aw lili x 2 HIHUHHH' 1 e I M5 l i1 -4 y INVENTOR. CARE L. QAV/S fi .v

j 3 BY w 1 A T TQRNE Y5 Nov. 5, 1968 c. DAVIS OSCILLATING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 12, 1967 INVENTOR. CAREY L DAV/s BY m, m 1 6 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,408,991 OSCILLATING MACHINE Carey L. Davis, Atlanta, Ga., assignor of twenty percent each to William B. Pritchett, Jr., Stone Mountain, and Berthold G. Stumberg, George M. Enbanks, and

Richard N. Lester, Atlanta, Ga.

Filed July 12, 1967, Ser. No. 652,813 16 Claims. (Cl. 123-18) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An oscillating engine including an integral, wing-shaped piston enclosed in a housing defining chambers through which the wing portions of the piston reciprocate. The Wing portions of the piston can each function as a fourcycle piston or as a two-cycle piston, and each Wing portion of the piston is connected to a common drive shaft. Sealing bars extend along the side surfaces and end surfaces of each piston, and are spring-urged away from the wing portions of the piston, into engagement with the chambers of the engine.

Background of the invention In the past, oscillating engines have been only moderately successful because of their complex construction, cost of construction and maintenance requirements. Engines of this type have normally required a multitude of internal moving parts, including springs, valves, seals and various other components which must be repaired or replaced from time to time. Furthermore, the piston of an engine of this type has normally been difiicult and expensive to fabricate and subject to rapid deterioration when in operation. The engine housing or casing normally required complicated casting procedures for its construction, and the assembly of the entire engine has been complicated and expensive. Since oscillating engines normally operated at a relatively slow r.p.m. in comparison to other type internal combustion engines, the expense and maintenance problems normally involved with an oscillating engine limited its application to only those situations where the less expensive engine was not appropriate.

Summary of the invention This invention relates to an oscillating engine comprising a minimum number of moving parts and which is inexpensive to manufacture and maintain. The engine includes a wing-shaped piston having a central bearing portion and wings disposed on diametrically opposite sides of the bearing portion. The wings are tapered so that they are thicker near the bearing portion and define a groove extending centrally along each side thereof, and along the end thereof. Sealing bars are inserted into the grooves of each wing, and a spring is positioned between the sealing bars and the bottom of the grooves of the wings so that the sealing bars are urged outwardly of the wings of the piston, into engagement with the side walls of the piston chamber. The engine housing defines a centrally disposed bearing surface and piston chambers positioned on opposite sides of bearing surface to accommodate the piston. An air inlet valve communicates with the lower portion of each piston chamber and an exhaust valve, fuel inlet aperture, and spark plug are disopsed in the upper portion of each piston chamber. A bypass conduit is defined in the side wall of each piston chamber so that when each 1 the air above the wing is compressed. .Upon subsequent downward movement of the piston wing, during the ignition stroke, the air below the wing is compressed, and when the wing reaches the lower portion of the piston chamber, the exhaust valve in the upper portion of the chamber opens to vent the exhaust gases from the chamber and the bypass conduit admits the compressed air below the wing to the portion of the chamber above the wing, whereupon the cycle is repeated.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide an internal combustion engine which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, economical to maintain, and eflicient in operation.

Another object of this invention is. to provide sealing members for the piston of an oscillating engine to effectively seal and lubricate the piston of the engine.

Another object of this invention is to provide an oscillating engine wherein the air inlet valve is located at a point remote from the piston chamber and the flow of air through the engine is effective to cool the piston cham ber and the piston of the engine.

Another object of this invention is to provide an oscillating engine which includes sealing members for sealing the sides of its piston to its piston chamber and for compensating for wear on the sealing members during its extended operation in the engine.

Another object of this invention is to provide a fuel pump system for an oscillating engine which is responsive to the oscillation of-the engine piston.

Another object of this invention is to provide an oscillating engine which includes an effective cooling systern.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is an end cross-sectional view of the engine.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the engine, taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the engine, showing the linkage between the drive shaft and the crank shaft associated With the engine.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the engine, from the opposite end of FIG. 3, showing the lubrication and cooling connections.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the piston, showing vthe sealing bars of one wing of the piston in exploded relationship with the piston.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a pair of engines in tandem arrangement driving a common crank shaft.

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of an engine having a single housing accommodating a pair of Wing-shaped pistons in side-by-side relationship.

Description of an embodiment Referring new more particularly to the drawing, in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 shows oscillating engine 10 which includes a housing 11 and piston 12. Housing 11 comprises end walls 14 and 15 (FIG. 2), peripheral walls 16 and 17, bottom wall 18, and top wall 19. Top wall 19 is generally V-shaped in configuration, bottom wall 18 is generally of inverted V-shaped configuration and peripheral walls 16 and 17 are generally crescent-shaped. End walls 14 and .15 are generally circular in configuration but include V-shaped cut-out upper portions which match the configuration of top wall 19, and crank shaft support openings 21 defined in their lower portions. Top wall 19 is connected to peripheral walls 16 and 17 by means of bolts 20 extending through mated apertures of top wall 19 and-llange 22 of peripheraLwall-16, and flange 23 of peripheral wall 17. End walls 14 and are connected to peripheral walls 16 and .17 by means of bolts 24 extending through mated apertures of end walls 14 and 15 and flanges 25 of peripheral walls 16 and 17. With this construction housing 11 defines a pair of piston chambers 26 and 27 which are generally crescent-shaped in configuration.

Bottom wall 18 defines a concave bearing surface 29 at its central portion which extends axially of housing 11 while top wall, 19 defines a concave bearing surface 30 similar in configuration to bearing surface 29, and which faces bearingsurface 29.,Top Wall bearing surface 30 defines a sealing slot 31 which extends longitudinally of housing 11. Sealing bar 32 isreceived in slot 31, and a corruguated spring 33 is positionedbetween sealing bar 32 and the inner surface of slot 31 to constantly urge sealing bar 32 outwardly of slot 31.

Piston 12 includes bearing sleeve 35 and wings or pistons 36 and 37 integrally attached to diametrically opposite sides of bearing sleeve 35. Bearing sleeve 35 is mounted about tubular drive shaft 39. Bearing sleeve 35 defines a pair of slots in its internal surface, and drive shaft 39 defines a pair of slots 41 in its external surface. Slots 40 and 41 are mated together and keys 42 are wedged into the mated slots to rigidly connect piston 12 to drive shaft 39.

Wings 36 and 37 of piston 12 are tapered inwardly along their lengths from hearing sleeve 35, so that the thickness of each wing 36 or 37 is less at its outer portion thanat its base adjacent bearing sleeve 35. Each wing 36 and 37 of piston 12 defines a slot 38 and'39, respectively, alongits peripheral surface or outer end 40 and 41, and along its end surfaces 42 and 43, respectively. Slots 38' and 39 extend completely around the exposed perimeter of each 'wing 36 and 37 and'extend partially into bearing sleeve 35. Recesses 44 and 45 are present in bearing sleeve 35 and form an e'xtension of slots 38 and 39. Sealing bars 46 and 48, and 47 and 49 are inserted into slots 38 and 39, respectively. Sealing bars 46; 48, 47 and 49 are of identical L-shaped configuration, and each includes a thick leg 50 and a thin leg 51 of a thickness approximately equal to'one half the thickness of thick leg 50'. Thick leg 50 of each sealing bar is sized to be tightly received in the portions'of slots 38 and 39 extending along the end surfaces 42 and 43 of wings 36 and 37. The thin leg 51 of each sealing bar is offset to the side of thick leg 50. The thin legs 51 of sealing bars 46 and 48, and 47 and 49, respectively, are placed in side by side relationship and inserted into the portions of slots 38 and 39 extending along the outer ends 40 and 41 of wings 36 and 37, respectively. Corrugated springs 52 and 53 are positioned in slots 38 and 39, respectively, inwardly of sealing bars 46, 48, 47 and 49. Corrugated springs 52 and 53 extend the entire length of slots 38 and 39, and may be continuous or formed in sections, as illustrated in FIG. 5. Springs 52 and 53 urge sealing bars 46, 48, 47 and 49 outwardly of their slots 38 and 39, into engagement with the side walls of piston chambers 26 and 27, respectively. Because of the overlapping configuration of the thin legs 51 of each sealing bar 4649, sealing bar 46 is urged into engagement with peripheral wall 16 and end wall 14 while sealing bar'48'is urged into engagement with peripheral wall 16 and end wall 15. Thus, sealing bars 46 and 48 will maintain a constant seal between wing 36 and the side walls of piston chamber 26. Of course, sealing bars 47 and 49 accomplish a similar function in piston chamber 27.

Top wall 19 includes a pair of outwardly extending recesses 56 and 57 on its internal wall. Recesses 56 and 57 are defined by horizontally extending wall portions 58 and 59, and sloping wall portions 60 and 61. Horiz ontally extending wall portions 58 and 59 define exhaust ports 62 and 63. End wall 15 defines fuel inlet ports 64 and 65 and apertures into which spark plugs .66 and 67 are threaded. Mushroom type exhaust valves 68 and 69 extend through exhaust ports 62 and 63, with the valve stems 70 and 71 extending in an upward direction. Manifold cover 72 extends over the center portion of top wall 19, and valve stems 70 and 71 extend through apertures in manifold cover 72. The upper ends of valve stems 70 and 71 terminate in enlarged heads 74 and 75, and compression springs 76 and 77 engage the upper surface of manifold cover 72 and the lower surface of enlarged heads 74 and 75, to urge exhaust valves 68 and 69 in an upward direction, toward their closed positions.

Mounting bars 78 and 79 are attached to top wall 19, and rotatably support rocker arm shafts 80 and 81. Rocker arms 82 and 83 are rigidly connected to rocker arm shafts 80 and 81, respectively, and extend from rocker arm shafts 80 to engage the enlarged heads 74 and 75 of exhaust valves 68 and 69. Rocker arms 82 and 83 each include a concave lowef surface 84 and 85, respectively. Fuel pump 86 and 87 are positioned below concave sur-' faces 84 and 85. Fuel pumps 86 and 87 are pivotally at tached to the upper surface of manifold cover 72 by means of connecting tabs 88 and 89. Pumps 86 and 87 each include a cylinder 90 and 91, and pistons 92 and 93 are reciprocally received in cylinders 90 and 91. The upper end of each piston 92 and 93 protrudes outwardly of its cylinder and has connected thereto a bearing 94 and 95. Each cylinder includes a coil spring (not shown) which urges its piston in an upward direction so that bearings 94 and 95 engage the concave surfaces 84 and of rocker arms 82 and 83. With this arrangement, the rocking motion of rocker arms 82 and 83 cause a pumping motion of pumps 36 and 37. Flexible fuel inlet lines 96 and 97 are connected to pumps 86 and 87, while flexible fuel delivery lines 98 and 99 are connected to the outlet ports of pumps 86 and 87 for delivering fuel to chambers 26 and 27. Fuel delivery line 98 communicates with inlet port 65 of chamber 27, while fuel delivery line 99 communicates with inlet port 64 of piston chamber 26. Thus, the pump mounted on the right portion of housing 11 functions to deliver fuel to the chamber defined in the left portion of the housing, and vice versa.

The displacement of pistons 92 and 93 in cylinders and 91 of pumps 86 and 87 is controlled by pump displacement control linkage 100 which includes a crank arm 101 extending in an axial direction of the housing, and links 102 and 103, each of which are connected at one of their ends to the offset portions of crank arm 101, and at their other ends to pistons 92 and 93, respetively. Pump displacement control linkage 100 is constructed so that when crank arm 101 is rotated links 102 and 103 are moved toward or away from crank arm '101 and bearings 94 and are moved over the concave surfaces 84 and 85 Otf rocker arms 82 and 83, respectively. When bearings 94 and 95 are positioned adjacent rocker arm shafts 80 and 81, the movement of rocker arms 82 and 83 will be effective to cause a small amplitude reciprocation of pistons 92 and 93 in cylinders 90 and 91; whereas when pump displacement control linkage is effective to move bearings 94 and 95 over concave surfaces 84 and 85 toward exhaust valves 68 and 69, movement of rocker arms 82 and 83 will be effective to cause a larger amplitude of reciprocation of pistons 92 and 93 in their respective cylinders. Thus, the amount of fuel pumped by pumps 86 and 87 is controlled by pump displacement control linkage 100. Crank arm 101 is rotated by means of linkage 104 (FIG. 3) which extends from a conveniently located throttle control element (not shown).

A protective cover 105 is positioned over the rocker arms, fuel pumps, and their related components, and is attached to top wall 19 by means of bolts 106. Manifold cover 72 includes a duct 108 (FIGS. 1 and 4) for connection to an exhaust system so that the gases exhausted from piston chambers 26 and 27 into the manifold are ducted away from the engine.

' Bottom Wall 18 of housing 11 defines a pair of outwardly extending plenum chambers 1'10 and 111 which communicate with piston chambers 26 and 27 by means of ports 112 and 113 located adjacent peripheral walls 16 and 17, respectively. Peripheral walls 16 and 17 each define slots 114 and adjacent ports 112 and 113. Slots 114 and extend a distance along the inner surface of peripheral walls 16 and 17 which is approximately twice the thickness of wings 36 and 37, at the outer portions thereof. Thus, when wings 36 and 37 of piston 12 are disposed adjacent bottom 18, slots 114 and 115 will communicate plenum chambers 110 and 111 to the portion of piston chambers 26 and 27 above wings 36 and 37, as shown in the right portion of FIG. 1. End Wall -15 (FIGS. 1 and 4) define air inlet apertures 116 and 117, and air inlet valve assemblies 118 and 119 are threaded into apertures 116 and 117. Inlet valve assemblies each include a valve seat 120, a valve stem guide 121, a mushroom valve 122, and a spring (not shown) disposed between the valve stem guide 121 and the enlarged portion 123 of the valve stem to urge the valves toward their closed positions.

As is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, drive shaft 39 has connected thereto lever arm 131 and valve actuating arm 125 extends generally toward manifold cover 72 from lever arm 131. Valve actuating arm 125 includes a cam or bearing 126 at its upper end which oscillates with piston 12. Rocker arm actuators 127 and 128 are rigidly connected at their upper ends to rocker arm shafts 80 and 81 and extend in a downward direction therefrom. The lower ends of each rocker arm actuator 127 and 128 define concave surfaces 129 and 130 positioned adjacent the end of the stroke of bearing 126. The curvature of concave surfaces 129 and 130 is greater than the exterior curvature of bearing 126, and bearing 126 initially engages the upper portion of concave surfaces 129 and 130 and rides over the concave surf-aces toward their lower portions, before reversing its direction of movement.

Lever arm 131 is connected to drive shaft 39 by means of keys 132 fitted into mated slots 133 and -134 of drive shaft 39 and lever arm 131. Lever arm 131 is weighted on one side of drive shaft 39 and connected to connecting rod 135 on the other side of drive shaft 39. Connecting rod 135 is connected in the conventional manner to crank shaft 136.

As is best shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, end walls -14 and =15 define water cooling cavities 138 and 139 while peripheral walls 16 and 17 define water cooling cavities 140. Cavities 138 and 1'39 communicate with the source of water through ports 142, and the water in cavities 138 and 139 is exhausted therelfrom through ports 143. In a similar manner, cavities 140 communicate with a source of water through ports 144, and water is vented from cavities 140 through ports 145.

As is shown in FIG. 2, end walls 14 and 15 have bolted thereto end flanges 146 and 147. End flange 147 defines oil ports 148 extending from the outside surface thereof toward bearing sleeve 35. Oil ports 148 terminate in arcuate grooves 150. Bearing sleeve 35 defines a pair of oil ports 151 which communicate at one of their ends with arcuate grooves 150, and at the other of their ends with slots 38 and 39 of wings 36 and 37 of piston 12. The other end of bearing sleeve 35 defines oil ports 152 which lead outwardly from slots 38 and 39. End flange 146 is generally similar in configuration to end flange 147 and includes arcuate grooves 153 and oil ports 154 which communicate with oil ports 152 of bearing sleeve 35, and arcuate grooves 155. Drive shaft 39 is hollow throughout a portion of its length and defines oil ports 156 which communicate with arcuate grooves 155. Drive shaft 39 defines an exhaust oil port 157 which communicates with an arcuate groove 158 defined in end flange 147, and arcuate groove 158 communicate with an exhaust oil port 159 defined in end flange -146. With this construction, oil under pressure is urged through oil ports 148 and 149, through arcuate grooves and 151, through oil ports 152 and 153 of drive shaft 39, and into the space between sealing bars 46-49 and the bottom of their slots 38 and 39. The oil isexh'austed from slots 38 and 39*through oil ports 152, arcuate grooves 153, oil port 154, arcuate groove 155, oil ports 156, into the hollow portion of drive shaft 39. The hollow portion of drive" shaft '39 is closed by a plug 161, and the oil accumulated in the hollow portion of drive shaft 39 is exhausted through oil port 157, arcuate groove 158, and oil port 159. Oil port 163 (FIG. 4) supplies oil through end flange 147 to the space behind sealing bar 32 (FIG. 1), to urge the sealingbar into engagement with piston sleeve 35, and to lubricate the bearing surfaces at the top of sleeve 35.

FIG. 6 shows two engines 165 and 166 similar to those of FIGS. 1-5 mounted in tandem relationship and connected to a single crank shaft 168. Engines 165 and 166 are angled about shaft 168 in a manner similar to the angles of a V-type engine so that the power stroke of each engine is exerted out of phase with the other engine.

FIG. 7 illustrates an engine 170 including a pair of pistons contained in a single housing in side-by-side relationship driving a common crank shaft 172 in a V arrangement. The engines of FIGS. 6 and 7 provide the obvious advantage of conservation of materials in eliminating duplication of parts. Also, as shown in FIG. 6, any number of engines can be mounted along a common crank shaft to provide the amount of power desired. Furthermore, several engines of the type shown in FIG. 7 can be mounted about a common crank shaft.

Operation When oscillating engine 10 is to be operated, housing 11 is connected to a support of the vehicle to be driven, the fuel lines, the oil lines and water lines properly connected to the related equipment and the spark plugs connected to the electrical system. A flywheel is connected to crank shaft 136 and the engine started in the usual manner. As piston 12 oscillates in a four cycle operation for each wing 36 and 3-7, lever arm 131 oscillates through a similar arc and drives crank shaft 136 through connecting rod 135. As is shown in FIG. 1, when wing 37 moves in an upward direction, the air in chamber 27 is compressed, and air will be drawn in through air inlet aperture 117, plenum chamber 111, slot 113, to the portion of piston chamber 27 below wing 37. When wing-37 reaches the upper portion of piston chamber 27, fuel will be injected through fuel inlet port 64 and a spark will be emitted from spark plug 67. The air fuel mixture above wing 37 will be ignited to drive wing 37 in a downward direction. As wing 37 is driven in a downward direction, the air drawn into the portion of chamber 27 below wing 37 will be compressed and forced back through port 113 into plenum chamber 111. Since air inlet aperture 17 will have been closed by its inlet valve 118, the air below wing 37 will be compressed in plenum chamber 111. When wing 37 approaches the lower portion of chamber 27, slots 115 will be exposed to the portion of chamber 27 above wing 37 and exhaust valve 71 will be opened. The gases present in chamber 27 above wing 37 will be exhausted through exhaust port 63, and the air previously compressed in plenum chamber 111- will be free to pass through port 113 and slots 115 into the portion of chamber 27 above wing 37, thus scavaging the exhaust gases from chamber 27. When wing 37 begins its next upward stroke, a new supply of air will be drawn into plenum chamber 111, through port 113, and into the portion of chamber 27 beneath wing 37. The air present in chamber 27 above wing 37 will be'compressed .during the upward movement of wing 37. Upon the next downward movement of wing 37, the air beneath wing 37 will be compressed in plenum chamber 111 until slots 115 are again uncovered by wing 37, whereupon the compressed air in plenum chamber 111 will surge into the portion of chamber 27 above wing 37. Thus, chamber 26 will receive an additional amount of compressed air so that the pressure of the air therein will be much higher than atmospheric pressure; When wing 37 resumes its upward movement, the air present in chamber 27 will be compressed again for the combustion stroke. It will be understood that wing 36 functions in a manner identical to wing 37.

While the engine has-been disclosed with its wings 36 and 37elfectively operating as pistons. in a four-cycle engine movement, it should be understood that the only modification necessary to convert the four-cycle operation to two-cycle operation is the timing of sparks 66 and 67 since the piston chambers 26 and 27 are scavanged every two cycles. I

As is shown in FIG. 3, valve actuating arm 125 which is rigidly connected to drive shaft 39 oscillates back and forth in unison with piston 12 and engages rocker arm actuators 127 and 128 near theend of each stroke. Inasmuch as the concave surfaces 129 and 130 of rocker arm actuators 127 and 128 are of greater curvature than hearing 126, bearing 126 initially engages concave surfaces 129 and 130 near. their upper portions and rolls or slides over concave surfaces 129 and 130 toward their lower portions before reversing its stroke. Thus, the movement of rocker arm actuators 127 and 128 is not so abrupt as to create vibrations and metal fatigue in the engine.

Rocker arm actuators 127 and 128 actuate rocker arms 82 and 83, which depress exhaust valves 68 and 69. Also, the concave surfaces 84 and 85 of rocker arms 82 and 83 function to reciprocate pistons 92 and 93 of pumps 86 and 87. Pump 86 communicates with fuel inlet port 65 of piston chamber 27 through conduit 98, while pump 87 communicates with fuel inlet port 64 of piston chamber 26 through conduit 99. The amount of fuel pumped by pumps 86 and 87 can be varied by rotation of crank arm 101 of pump displacement control linkage 100, which pivots pumps 86 and 87 so that their bearings 94 and 95 are moved over the concave surfaces 84 and 85 0f rocker arms 82 and 83.

During the operation of the engine, housing 11 is kept cool by supplying cooled liquid to liquid cavities 138, 139, 140 and 141 through apertures 142 and 144, and exhausting the liquid from these cavities through apertures 143 and- 145. The engine is lubricated and cooled by supplying oil through oil ports 148 and 149, whereupon the oil passes through arcuate grooves 150 and 151, through oil ports 152 of bearing sleeve 135 of piston 12, behind sealing bars 46-49, and back through oil ports 152 of bearing sleeve 35 on the other side-of the engine, into arcuate grooves 155, through oil ports 156 of drive shaft 39, and into the hollow portion of drive shaft 39. The oil accumulated in the hollow portion of drive shaft 39 is exhausted through oil port 157, arcuate groove 158, and oil port 159 of end flange 147, where it is ducted back to the source of supply,

The construction of sealing bars 46-49 is such that piston 12 is effectively in sealed sliding contact with the interior surfaces of piston chambers 26 and 27. Corrugated springs 52 and 53 are effective to move sealing bars 46-49 outwardly of slots 38 and 39 of piston 12 as the sealing bars begin to wear. Thus, no gaps or Worn spaces are created between the effective end and peripheral surfaces of piston 12 and piston chambers 26 and 27.

Oil is supplied to sealing bar 32 (FIG. 1) by means of oil port 163 (FIG. 4), and corrugated spring 33 urges sealing bar 32 into engagement with the upper arcuate surface of bearing sleeve 35. Inasmuch as the upper arcuate surface of bearing sleeve 35 is subjected to combustion gases during the operation of the engine, the oil supplied to the slot 31 is allowed to seep around the edges of sealing bar 32 onto the upper arcuate surface of the bearing sleeve 35, to maintain this surface in a lubricated state.

The tapered shape of wings 36 and 37 of piston 12 is such that the wings are stronger adjacent bearing sleeve 35 and are able to withstand the lever arm effect of the forces exerted by the combustion gases on the peripheral portions of wings 36 and 37. The ports 112 and 113, and slots 114 and 115 adjacent the lower portions of piston 8 chambers 26 and 27 are effective to direct the cooler inlet air around the ends of wings 36 and 37, so as to maintain these portions of piston 12 in a relatively cool state. The fact that air inlet valves 118 and 119 are displaced from the vicinity of piston chambers 26 and 27 allows these valves to operate at a reduced temperature. Thus, the only. elements that constantly move during the operation of the engine that are in contact with the combustion gases are the piston 12 and exhaust valves 68 and 69.

While a single engine has been disclosed in FIGS. 1-5, reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 shows that more than one engine of the type disclosed maybe attached toa single crank shaft to obtain desired power combinations. For instance, engines of the type disclosed can be arranged in side-by-side relationship (FIG. 7) and connected to a single throw of a crank shaft and the wing-shaped pistons arranged to operate out of phase with one another to accomplish several power strokes for each rotationof the crank shaft. A V-shaped or radial arrangement of engines could provide four or more power strokes per crank shaft rotation when each wing or piston member was operating on a two-cycle principle. Furthermore, several engines of the type disclosed can be connected to different throws of a crank shaft, as shown in FIG. 6.

Thus, at this point, it should be understood that the invention disclosed herein contains fewer moving parts than the conventional reciprocating piston internal. combustion engine, can be produced with far less work, can be fired from compression or spark, and utilize a variety of fuels. The construction is such that when the engine is utilized on a two-stroke basis, each piston, including one connecting rod and one throw in the crank shaft, is equalv to a four-cylinder engine having four connecting rods and four throws on the crank shaft, on a four-cycle basis. When two engines are arranged as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, utilizing a single throw on a crank shaft, four power impulses are imparted to the crank shaft during every rotation of the crank shaft, the power impulses be? ing distributed at 90 degree intervals of the rotation of the crank shaft.

The sealing bars are tightly fitted in their receiving grooves of the pistons so as to permit the right amount of lubricating oil to be passed by the bars to lubricate the interior walls of the cylinders. Also, the pressure of the oil behind the sealing bars and the corrugated springs continuously urge the sealing bars into positive engagement with the cylinder walls to tightly seal the piston to the cylinder walls.

While a lubrication system is shown only for the sealing bars of the engine, it should be understood that the crank shaft, connecting rod, wrist pin, and various other elements of the engine will be lubricated in a conventional manner. Also, the engine may be water jacketed about the exhaust manifold and other areas, as desired.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations may be made in the embodiments chosen for the purpose of illustrating the present invention without departing from the scope thereof as defined by the-appended claims.

What is claimed as invention is:

1. An internal combustion engine comprising shaft means having fixed thereon piston members projecting outwardly from the shaft and away from each other,

a casing surrounding the piston members and defining chambers within which the piston members oscillate about the axis of said shaft means,

a gas inlet passage defined in the casing in open communication with each chamber below its piston member for admitting gas for combustion,

a plenum chamber in open communication with each gas inlet passage,

valve means for controlling the flow of gas from the atmosphere into the plenum chamber, and

duct means defined in said casing for communicating sad gas inlet passage to the upper portion of said piston member when said piston member is adjacent said gas inlet passage.

2. The invention of claim 1 and further comprising exhaust ports defined in each chamber above its piston member, exhaust valves controlling the opening of said exhaust ports, means responsive to the opening of the exhaust valve of one chamber for injecting fuel into the other chamber.

3. In an internal oombus'ion engine of the type having a shaft and piston members rigidly connected to and projecting radially outwardly from the shaft, and a casing defining chambers within which the piston members oscillate, the improvement therein comprising: an exhaust port defined in each chamber above its piston member, an exhaust valve associated with each exhaust port for controlling the opening of each said exhaust port, a rocker arm for actuating each exhaust valve, and fuel injection means actuated by each rocker arm for injecting fuel into the opposite chamber.

4. The invention of claim 3 wherein each rocker arm includes an axis of movement and a working surface, each of said fuel injection means including a pumping cylinder, and a piston reciprocally received within said pumping cylinder and engaging the working surface of its rocker arm.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said cylinder is pivotally supported and further comprising means for moving said piston over the working surface of its rocker arm, toward or away from the axis of movement of its rocker arm.

6. The invention of claim 4 and further including an actuating member movable with said piston for actuating said rocker arms.

7. In an internal combustion engine, a piston comprising a central bearing portion and wings disposed on diametrically opposite sides thereof, each of said wings defining a slot extending along its end surfaces and its peripheral surface, a pair of substantially imperforate L- shaped sealing bars positioned in the slot of each wing, each sealing bar having one leg positioned in a portion of the slot extending along the end surface of a wing and another leg positioned in the portion of the slot extending along the peripheral surface of a wing in overlapping relationship with the other sealing bar of the wing, corrugated spring means positioned in each slot inwardly of the sealing bars, and fluid pressure means for urging the sealing bars outwardly of the slots.

8. The invention of claim 7 wherein said sealing bars and said slots of each wing define a lubricating conduit, said fluid pressure means including inlet ducts defined in said bearing portion and communicating with one end of each lubricaing conduit, and outlet ducts defined in said bearing portion and communicating with the other end of each lubricating conduit, for ducting lubricating fluid toward and away from the lubricating conduits.

9. In an internal combustion engine, a piston comprising a central bearing portion and wings disposed on diametrically opposite sides of the bearing portion, a housing defining concave bearing surfaces disposed on opposite sides of and engaging the bearing portion of the piston, said housing defining piston chambers on opposite sides of the piston into which the wings of the piston extend, said piston chambers each including an arcuate outer wall over which the peripheral surface of the piston wing moves, planer end walls extending outwardly from the bearing surfaces over which the end surfaces of the piston moves, and side walls extending outwardly from the bearing surfaces, a fuel inlet opening and an exhaust opening defined in one of said side walls of each piston chamber, an air inlet opening defined in the other of said side walls of each piston chamber, piston by-pass ducts defined in the arcuate outer wall of each piston chamber adjacent said other of said side walls, a plenum chamber in communication with each said air inlet opening, and valve means for permitting air to fiow only into said plenum. chambers. 2

10. The invention of claim 9 wherein said air inlet opening and said by-pass ducts of each piston chamber are in juxtaposed alignment.

11. The invention of claim 9 and further including an exhaust valve controlling the opening of each exhaust opening, and fuel injecting means communicating with each fuel inlet opening.

12. The invention of claim 11 and further comprising actuating means responsive to the operation of the exhaust valve of one piston chamber for actuating the fuel injecting means of the other chamber.

13. The invention of claim 9 wherein at least one of the bearing surfaces of said housing defines a rectilinear slot, a substantially impervious sealing bar positioned in said slot, spring means extending along said slot for urg ing the sealing bar into engagement with the bearing portion of said piston, and duct means defined in said housing for communicating lubricating fluid under pressure to said slot.

14. An internal combustion engine comprising a pair of separately oscillating pistons, casings defining arcuate chambers surrounding said pistons, a crank shaft including an off-set throw, and a separate connecting rod connected to each piston and to said throw of the crank shaft.

15. The invention of claim 14 wherein the casings are mounted in end-to-end relationship and spaced circumferentially about the crank shaft.

16. The invention of claim 14 wherein the casings are mounted in side-by-side relationship on opposite sides of the crank shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,037,094 8/1912 Williams 123-18 1,705,826 3/1929 Polizzi 12318 1,799,294 4/1931 Gough 12318 2,989,040 6/ 1961 Zalisko 123-18 3,315,648 4/ 1967 Castillo 12318 3,338,137 8/1967 James 123-18 FOREIGN PATENTS 32,509 3/1912 Sweden. 456,808 11/193 6 Great Britain.

WENDELL E. BURNS, Primary Examiner. 

